Stray
by Firestar9mm
Summary: She didn't know how she knew something wasn't quite right.


**Author's Introduction:**

It's like, the harder I try to work on my big RW fic, the more little ones keep crowding my brain. And I haven't drawn a line in days. You'd think with all my ideas backing up like traffic I could get them down onto paper faster, but my fingers feel like blocks of wood.

I'm trying. I promise.

Oh, one more thing, that I forgot to add in my last little one-shot: I'm very aware of the fact that the Ronin don't just stick around at Mia's house indefinitely. They have homes and families that they would return to. Still, I like to write one-shots where they're all at the house—under the pretense of visiting, maybe—because it's just not a story without everyone together. So I just wanted to say that it's not meant to go against canon. These vignettes I write are simply attempts to capture random moments where everyone's "home" together.

* * *

**Stray**

_a Ronin Warriors fic (um, ficlet, maybe) by Firestar9mm_

* * *

She didn't know how she knew something wasn't quite right. 

She had no mystical armor; she didn't have that invisible connection that arced like electricity between the guys. It amused her to watch them exchange glances; she knew they were speaking without having to say anything aloud. She didn't have that mental link; all she had was women's intuition and a very thorough knowledge of her friends and their habits and moods.

It was that intuition, she'd told Sage, that had assured her Kento was waiting for them at the top of Mount Dojo. It was that intuition that had sent her into the swirling snow after the Warrior of Halo, knowing he needed her help. It was that intuition that had sent her racing into the city after a boy and a tiger, knowing something terribly important was about to break above their heads.

It was that intuition that jangled an alarm at the base of her skull now, making it utterly impossible to finish her crossword puzzle.

"Cygnet," a voice said above her head.

Blinking, Mia let the newspaper fall from her hands and turned her head over her shoulder to see the speaker, who was leaning over the back of the sofa. "What was that?"

"The answa's a cygnet," Rowen Hashiba informed her patiently. "A six-letta word f'r a baby swan." He reached over her shoulder to tap the blank squares on the newspaper page with a long finger. "Write it in."

Mia frowned. "A cygnet? I thought they were goslings."

"Goslin' is seven lettas," Rowen said, circling around the sofa. "An' that's geeses." He grinned roguishly, sitting across from her on the sofa and tugging on a blue forelock. "An' you call yerself a college professa?"

Mia frowned playfully, whacking the blue-haired Ronin on the head lightly with the newspaper. "Enough of a professor to tell you that _geeses_ isn't a word…you _goose_." Rising, she tossed the newspaper at his chest and handed him her pencil. "Here, you can finish it. I can't concentrate."

"Pencil?" Rowen made a big show out of making an oh-yuck face at the pencil. "I don't need no stinkin' pencil." Leaning over the side of the sofa, he yelled, "Someone gimme a pen. Somethin' with _permanent _ink!"

Mia pretended to be very shocked by his bravery for a second, then laughed and left him to his puzzle.

She was ambushed on the way past the kitchen—Kento Rei Fuan practically leapt to block her path, one hand holding a spoon, the other cupped beneath it to catch any spill. "Mia! Just who I wanted to see. Taste this."

Tucking a lock of red hair behind her ear, Mia leaned over and delicately licked the sauce that was in the spoon. "Mmm. Good," she pronounced. "Very good. What'd you put in it?"

"More oregano." Kento beamed. "I think it's really gonna be something. Should be ready in about twenty—want to round everyone up?"

Mia had to admit she was very pleased to not have to do the cooking _all_ the time, and Kento had recently surprised everyone by showing a genuine enjoyment of culinary arts. Mia liked to watch him dash around the kitchen with a mad-scientist expression on his face, trying to come up with something that would please all of his dinner guests. Talking with him as he worked, she'd come to realize that he truly knew what he was doing. There was more to running a restaurant than just serving food, and she felt a little guilty thinking she'd unfairly treated him like nothing more than an eating machine.

"I'm on it," she promised. "Thanks for cooking tonight, Kento."

"No problem, gorgeous," he said, stirring the sauce he had on the heat. "Thank me after we get through the night without anyone vomiting."

Smiling and shaking her head, she headed back into the living room. "Dinner in twenty," she said, messing up Rowen's blue hair as she passed. Strata jumped, startled, clutching the newspaper to his chest to hide the crossword from her.

"How's it going?" she asked sweetly.

He grinned sheepishly, a blush staining his cheek. "Got any White-Out?"

"Should have used the pencil," she said airily as she went to look for the others.

Ryo and Cye were already seated at the dining room table, their gazes dueling over the two piles of playing cards on the surface. White Blaze stood at the head of the table, watching intently, his brown eyes flicking from one combatant to the other.

"Okay," Ryo said. "One, two, three—spit."

Immediately, their hands flashed out, dealing cards, eyes scanning over their options before they started stacking them in order on the piles.

"No, no, _no_," Cye lamented as he lost his grip on his deck and had to waste precious seconds gathering it up again. Ryo pressed his advantage, tanned hands a blur as he got rid of all his cards. But before he could slap the smaller pile to secure the round, White Blaze reared up on his hind legs, patting one huge paw down on the cards.

"That's not _fair_," Cye cried, just as Ryo said, "White Blaze, you're supposed to pick the _smaller_ pile, boy!"

Cye's auburn brows snapped over his eyes. "I already told you, no teams!"

White Blaze's paw wrinkled the tablecloth as he patted the cards again, looking pleased with himself. His tail twitched happily.

"Let's play Uno instead," Ryo sighed, glancing at the door where Mia was giggling at them. "Mia? Want to play?"

"Kento said dinner's up soon," she said. "But after, maybe. Where's Sage?"

Ryo waved a hand for emphasis. "Out. He's been gone for hours. You know him. I'll send White Blaze out to get him if you want."

Mia glanced out the window, that feeling that all was not quite right tugging at her sharply. "No, I'll go get him. I could use a walk. If I can't find him in twenty minutes, I'll come back."

There was more of a chill in the air than she'd expected; she wished she'd brought a jacket. The weather never seemed to bother Sage; he seemed always to be out on the grounds, in places only he knew. She smiled at a little mental image of Sage sitting in a lotus position, his eyes closed, as the weather raged from scorching heat to driving rain to swirling snow around him.

The Warrior of Halo's affinity for nature and his escapes into both the wilderness and the recesses of his own thoughts was normally something Mia found very interesting; it was just a pain in the ass to call him for dinner, she reflected as she followed the path under the turning leaves. Maybe she should have agreed to send White Blaze; at least he could track better than a human being. Still, once the dinner bell was rung it was hard to get the tiger's attention.

But Sage was easy to find today; she came upon him kneeling directly in the center of the path, his back to her, the light from the dying day glinting off his blond hair. Sighing, she walked closer, waiting for him to acknowledge her. When he didn't, she placed a hand on the shoulder of his letter jacket. "Hey, Sage?"

Later, she would reflect that it was a shame that no one saw her accomplishment—it might very well of been the first time someone had managed to sneak up on the Warrior of Halo.

Sage actually lost his footing. As soon as he'd felt and heard the intrusion, he tried to rise and turn at the same time, which resulted in his feet tangling and dropping him back to the ground, sitting in his own surprise. Violet eyes gazed balefully up at Mia, who put a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry."

He narrowed his eyes, still sitting on the ground. "I _hate_ it when you do that," he said flatly. "Why are you always following me?"

She chuckled, kneeling. "I said I was sorry. What were you looking at?"

Something sparked in his eyes. "Nothing. Go back to the house."

Surprised at his answer, Mia glanced around. "Kento says dinner will be ready soon—"

He cut her off, getting back to his feet and taking her hands to pull her up with him. "Not hungry. I'll be along later. Go back up to the house." Dusting himself down, he turned his back on her and started along the path.

Suddenly annoyed at being brushed off, Mia strode forward and grabbed his shoulder. "What's wrong with you? How come—"

It was then she saw the paw, almost hidden beneath the brush.

Stepping around Sage, Mia looked down and saw the small, pitiful body of a cat. Its eyes were closed tight, like a kitten's, and some of the ginger-colored fur near its throat was matted dark with blood. It had probably crawled into the brush after being hurt, Mia thought. Cats hid when they were sick or dying.

"Poor little thing," she murmured, wishing it were safe to pet the animal's fur. Turning to Sage, she said, "What happened?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, the blond arched a brow at her. "I have no idea. I found it like that." Turning his head, he muttered, "Would you just go please?"

Sage never lied. She didn't believe that he'd harmed the animal. Still, something was definitely bothering him. But all she had to go on was intuition; she couldn't read that unfathomable mind.

Suddenly, she felt as though they were both children, confronted with the strange reality of mortality—puppies and kitties, girls and warriors die and there is nothing we can do about it.

"It's not your fault," she said softly. "It probably got into a fight with a bigger animal. We can…" She fidgeted, feeling a little silly for even suggesting it to him, but still unsure of what was troubling him. "We can bury it if you like?"

Sage sighed. "It isn't that. It's just that I think…" He paused, glancing at her, and then he shook his blond head, deciding against finishing his sentence. "You're going to miss supper. Go back to the house."

"What's wrong?" she asked softly. "What were you going to say?"

Frowning, Sage speared her with a stern gaze. "No. I told you, I don't want any supper, and you should go back to the house. Don't make me say it again."

She was not about to leave him alone when he was so obviously agitated, but it was always like pulling teeth to get any information out of him. "You can tell me," she said, taking his arm. "What happened to the cat? Why are you so upset?"

He blinked, looking at the animal. "Leave me alone."

Mia sighed through her nose. "Well, if you're not going to bury it, I am. I don't want any other animals to get at it." Dropping to her knees again, she pressed her hands against the earth looking for a soft place to dig. The sound of slithering cloth and a sigh brought her attention back to Sage. He'd resumed sitting on the ground, long legs stretched out and bent at the knee, eyes focused on the dirt. She stopped what she was doing and leaned back on her calves, waiting.

His voice was scratchy and he wouldn't look at her when he said it. "I think…I think there are kittens."

Oh. So _that_ was what was bothering him. Glancing around the brush, Mia listened closely for any tiny mews, any crackling of leaves. Nothing. "I don't see any kittens. What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, I just…know." He put a hand behind his head, wrinkling his nose as if the vagueness frustrated him. "There are kittens out here somewhere."

Mia knew what _that_ felt like. It was that feeling that had sent her out here after him. He wasn't sure if he could trust what he knew because he wasn't sure _how _he knew it, but the bad feeling wouldn't lift and he didn't know how to stop it.

With that thought came the realization of what he'd been doing out here all this time. "Have you been _looking_ for them?"

He flushed, turning his head to ensure that their eyes would not meet.

"Sage?"

"I can't find them." His voice was clipped. "I see their prints in the dirt, but I can't find them. I don't know if whatever got their mother got them, too, but if it didn't…"

He didn't finish the sentence, and his face was bright as blood. She fought the temptation to smile—this was something he would not want the others knowing, that the proud Warrior of Halo was upset because he couldn't bear to think of a litter of kittens hungry and vulnerable without their mother. He would not see her laughter a sign of her admiration but as a mocking of his emotion.

Fighting to keep her face calm, she got to her feet and dusted herself down, holding out her hands for him. "Come on. I'll help you look."

Sage didn't move, one violet eye focusing on her warily.

She waved her hands for emphasis, offering them to him.

After another minute, he accepted, letting her pull him to his feet.

* * *

"Where have you guys been?" Kento asked as the dining room door swung open, admitting Sage, who held it open for Mia. The redhead's arms were full of Sage's letter jacket, which she was holding carefully. "It's been almost an hour. You're lucky we left you some supper!" 

"Betta hurry if ya want any dessert," Rowen added happily through a mouthful of pumpkin pie, his eyes crossing in contentment.

"What's with the jacket?" Ryo asked. "What were you two doing out there?"

"Could I have the milk please?" Mia asked, instead of answering. Like an audio aid, a small mew sounded from the bundled jacket in her arms, then another, and another. Finally, a kitten's fuzzy head poked up to view its new surroundings, tiny pointed ears perking at the friendly voices. It opened its tiny mouth wide to squeak a greeting while its brother and sister nosed around, eager at the thought of sustenance.

"Ah, I see," Cye said, smiling at her and pushing the milk jug towards her end of the table. "Here you go. There's more in the fridge if you need it, but don't give them too much or they'll be sick."

"Ain't you tired of taking in strays, big sis?" Kento teased, reaching to stroke one of the kittens' little ears. "I mean, hell, you fed _us_ once and now look."

Ryo reached over to high-five his friend as laughter sounded around the table.

"Oh, I don't know," Mia said, slanting a smile at Sage. "It's worked out pretty good for me so far." Shifting the jacket and its tiny passengers carefully in her arms, she continued towards the kitchen.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Maybe working on small things will kick-start me to get everything that's in my head out into the world. Aiiieeeee!

I felt a need to apologize to Kento. Anyone catch that? (smiles.) I love you, Kento, I know there's so much more to you than some fans give you credit for!

A cygnet is indeed a baby swan. Isn't Rowen such a smarty-pants? (giggles.)

I like to write these little bits—keeps my hand in while I work on the big Ronin fic and the art. Of course, these wouldn't make it out of the bullpen without Cloudy, who probably needs a migraine prescription from all this.


End file.
